The majority of voters did not vote for Donald Trump for president; the majority of voters did not vote for Republican candidates for the Senate; and fewer than 51% of voters cast their ballots for Republican candidates for the House of Representatives. The Republican Party now controls the White House, both houses of Congress and the Supreme Court, no matter how that came to be. I believe it is worth bearing in mind that a majority of U.S. citizens did not support the Republican winners.   read more

The president claimed that prior to the attacks, Mihdhar made a phone call from San Diego to a known al-Qaeda safe-house in Yemen. But back then, the president insisted, the NSA couldn’t identify the origin of the call. Had the agency been able to do just that, it could have helped stop the attacks. But both the NSA and the Central Intelligence Agency knew Mihdhar was part of al-Qaeda, that he was in San Diego.   read more

China’s trans-Pacific emissions also cause up to 25% of the sulfate pollution on the West Coast on certain days, according to the study. Chinese manufacturing for the export of goods to the United States was responsible for between roughly 5-7% of harmful emissions in its own country.   read more

Janko’s story began in Afghanistan, where the Taliban accused him of being an American spy, threw him in jail and tortured him for three months. After 18 months of imprisonment, he was freed following the U.S. invasion in 2001. But his freedom was short-lived as the U.S. then suspected him of being an insurgent, resulting in his arrest and shipment to Guantánamo. His detainment lasted until 2009, during which he says he was tortured by American officials.   read more

The park, first established in 1912, was the site of Florida’s largest and bloodiest Civil War battle that killed 3,000 Union and 1,000 Confederate soldiers. It occurred on February 20, 1864, and raged on for four hours. With no marker respecting the sacrifice of so many northern men, the Florida chapter of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War asked the state parks department last year for permission to place an obelisk to honor Union soldiers.   read more

The administration wanted the Pentagon to take over drone missions so that the CIA could refocus on intelligence gathering. President Barack Obama also felt that the change would lend more transparency to such missions by pulling them from the highly secretive intelligence agency. But lawmakers objected to the switch, fearing the Defense Department would have trouble duplicating the CIA success in killing terrorists while minimizing civilian casualties.   read more

Canadian scientists have determined the U.S. is responsible for 22% of the globe’s recent warming attributed to humankind. This share is far more than the next biggest polluter, China, which has accounted for 9% of temperature changes. Other nations that helped put too many greenhouse gases in the atmosphere were Russia (8%), Brazil and India (7%), and Germany and the United Kingdom (5%).   read more

Patients who had been victims of rape or incest could not have been considered exceptions to the law’s mandate directed at their doctor. The requirements of the law included placing the ultrasound directly in the woman’s line of sight, even if she chose to look away, and describing the embryo or fetus to her even if she tried not to listen. The doctor would also have been required to make available the “fetal heart tone” for the woman to hear.   read more

The higher rates were attributed to these states’ large concentrations of evangelical Christians, who espouse the importance of marriage over living out of wedlock. This belief frequently leads to people getting married at a young age, which can lead to divorce. Other researchers have noted that higher rates of poverty, which exist in states throughout the South, can produce strain on marital relationships, leading to their dissolution.   read more

The case involves Michelle L. Kosilek, who was known as Robert Kosilek when he strangled his wife in 1990. Shortly after his conviction, Kosilek asked state prison officials for surgery that would turn him into a woman. In September 2012 by District Court Judge Mark Wolf.approved the surgery on grounds that Kosilek had a serious medical condition, gender identity disorder.   read more

The 2013 session was clearly not a productive one, not with only 56 bills becoming law. But of those measures signed by President Barack Obama, only 16 were introduced by Democrats. The other 40 pieces of enacted legislation were sponsored by Republican lawmakers.   read more

Obama promised to move metadata out of government hands and into private ones. No specifics were provided, except that Obama called on the Department of Justice to work with the NSA and devise a plan within 60 days. The NSA will still be able to access the phone records, even after their move. But, going forward, any search of the metadata will require approval by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC)—unless ”a true emergency” requires the NSA to act first without a judicial okay.   read more

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filed a consolidated complaint accusing Wal-Mart of illegally firing and disciplining nearly 70 workers. Some of the targeted employees were punished for going on strike last year, according to the pro-worker group Making Change at Walmart. The company’s illegal actions allegedly took place at 34 stores in 14 states.   read more

Tired of waiting for Congress to act on immigration reform, President Barack Obama has used his executive powers to halt deportations of many illegal immigrants. The changes will apply to unauthorized immigrants who haven’t broken the law, those who were children when they arrived in the United States, and adults caring for children. Obama also wants relatives of U.S. military personnel living in the country illegally to remain and not be deported.   read more

Vitter added that food stamp costs have doubled since 2008. Alan Pyke at AlterNet wrote that SNAP fraud rates are only 1%. Deborah Weinstein, executive director of the advocacy organization Coalition on Human Needs, told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “Senator Vitter’s proposal will be especially tough on elderly and poor people who do not have the documents needed to get their photo ID, and who will struggle even to get to the necessary offices."   read more

Environmentalists, who have been particularly nervous over the closed-door negotiations, had their fears confirmed by WikiLeaks, which obtained draft documents from TPP meetings. The leaked materials indicate the U.S. has demanded stronger environmental rules, including calls for sanctions against participating countries that pollute. But those positions are opposed by most or all of the other Pacific Rim nations working on the deal.   read more

The super PAC claims that only 39% of its budget during the 2010 election went towards political spending—which is okay under federal law that places the ceiling at 50%. But in reviewing the super PAC’s financial records, the FEC concluded that Crossroads’ political spending reached 53% four years ago because Crossroads did not include “issue ads” that criticize a candidate without mentioning that there is an imminent election.   read more